Meet Peter Hatchard

His passion: The Potager Garden at Norfolk Botanical Garden

Why the Potager Garden is special: This thoughtfully designed “kitchen garden” is an ornamental food and flower garden. It is a demonstration garden whose beds are laid out in a French style design behind a white wooden fence with walkways winding through the garden. The garden yields a variety of seasonal vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers. Produce is donated to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia & the Eastern Shore.

What he does there: Peter leads a team of about 10 Master Gardeners for several hours on most Wednesdays and Fridays starting at 9:30 a.m. Looking six weeks ahead, Peter and his teamwork with botanical garden staff to design the garden and select plants for the spring, summer and fall growing seasons. They try to include unusual varieties of peas, kale and other crops not typically found in grocery stores. Volunteers plant, maintain and harvest crops while educating visitors about the wonders of the potager garden. They have had as many as 100 visitors in a day and encourage them to create their own gardens and to explore the Norfolk Master Gardener website.

His previous life: Peter grew up in Hastings, England and moved to Norfolk with NATO. He is a retired commander with the British Royal Navy and a retired NATO administrator who looks forward to gaining his United States citizenship next year.

Why he likes being a Master Gardener: Peter became a Master Gardener before retiring in 2018. He liked gardening since he was a toddler and wanted to learn about horticulture. He thought being a Master Gardener would be a great way to spend his free time. At the Potager Garden, his “joy comes from interacting with visitors.” One highlight was the guest who told Peter that the 30 minutes spent with Master Gardeners in the Potager Garden was the best part of visiting the botanical garden.



Stay tuned for Peter’s presentation to Norfolk Master Gardeners at the November Membership Meeting.